Good Action Thriller

Rating: 7/10 (19 July 2005)

I saw the movie at the Detroit red carpet premiere on Monday, July 18. In attendance were Michael Clarke Duncan and Djimon Hounsou.
The movie reminded me very much of Total Recall and The Matrix, not only with the plot line, but with its intensity. This was a very good summer action thriller. It was a little slow at first but once Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson's characters discovered that they were clones, the action picked up immensely.
I was a little surprise about the lack of time Duncan was in the movie. Hounsou did a fabulous job as the hired gun. I am not a Ewan McGregor fan but I think he did a great job as Lincoln Six Echo and Tom Lincoln, especially when both Six Echo and Lincoln were in the same scenes together. Johansson looked good on the screen but her dialogue was limited.
Steve Buscemi did an funny job in his supporting role as McCord, the human buddy of Lincoln Six Echo. The scene when Johansson's character, Jordan Two Delta, and McCord go through McCord's closet to find some normal clothes for Johansson is a riot.
As parts of the movie was shot in Detroit (See when Ewan and Scarlett arrive in L.A.), I was looking for shots of the Motor City. In this sense, the movie did an excellent job making Detroit and "L.A." look really snazzy. However, in two shots of downtown "L.A.", you will see on the side of one of the buildings, a giant mural of Stevie Yzerman in his Red and White Red Wings jersey. I don't know if this was a goof, but it was interesting to think of why Yzerman would be on the side of a building in L.A. forty years hence.
Overall, I give it a seven. If you are a giant action and science fiction fan, you should not miss The Island.